The Americans have had little success at the past Olympics for one reason or another they don't perform well as a whole. Why can't the world top sprinters still dominate and when the relays and what has happen to the Americans in the 1500m to the marathon at the OLYMPICS?
Question
Ritz will make the finals in the 5/10k, whichever he runs. Krum will choke and culpepper will run 208.
A short and incomplete list:
The rise of general affluence in America
Cable television
The home computer
The Internet
A diet based on convenient, processed foods
The marketing and popularity of other sports where athletes are well paid celebrities
A lack of physical and health education in public schools
A culture that seeks quick fixes
A culture that celebrates material and physical comfort
The general shortening of American's attention spans
The decline of track and field's popularity amongst average sports fans
More white collar career opportunities in the past 20 years
The rise of "feel good" mediocrity
You forgot one.
Running is by and large a very boring sport to watch and can be just as boring to participate in. Thats coming from a runner and a fan of the sport.
I can't argue with that.
Portland Runner wrote:
A short and incomplete list:
The rise of general affluence in America
Cable television
The home computer
The Internet
A diet based on convenient, processed foods
The marketing and popularity of other sports where athletes are well paid celebrities
A lack of physical and health education in public schools
A culture that seeks quick fixes
A culture that celebrates material and physical comfort
The general shortening of American's attention spans
The decline of track and field's popularity amongst average sports fans
More white collar career opportunities in the past 20 years
The rise of "feel good" mediocrity
I agree on all these. But you have to keep in mind that the best American runners of today went to high school in the early to mid 1990s, when high school running was at its worst. Today's younger national-class runners, such as Steve Slattery and Jorge Torres, are the last of this group. As the runners from the late 1990s and early 2000s mature (this means Ritz, Webb, Sage, Hall, Solinsky, and so on), you will see dramatic changes.
D_Gordan makes a good point, i think. During the 80's and early 90's, our country got fat and lazy. Just look at the majority of middle-aged americans. Our athletes will reflect on our society as a whole. However, I get the feeling that my generation as realized that we don't want to be come the over-weight slobs that those in their 30's and 40's have become. People like Ritz, Webb, Culpepper, Brown, Jorge, etc. are making huge strides at bring our country back, hopefully to the point like it was years ago with Ryan, Salazar, Pre, and the like. That "feel good mediocrity" is hopefully dwindling. It just sucks that while we're out there trying to develop our bodies, as well as our minds, on those long, lonely runs, or on the track, there are many of those out there pressuring us to stop, "take the easy way," and to bitch out. We see these people everytime someone yells, "run, forest, run" from the comfort of their SUV. The Africans, and others outside "western culture" didn't compromise themselves in this manner as we did. Hopefully, more than just a few will realize this, pull our heads out of our asses, and again give the world a reason to worry about getting beaten by an American. Happy trails.
the don wrote:
Ritz will make the finals in the 5/10k, whichever he runs. Krum will choke and culpepper will run 208.
There is an excellent chance that no one comes near 2:08 in Athens.
American distance runners probably don't eat the same garbage that general population eats. Diet has nothing to do with the performance of US distance runners.
I think the reason US distance is in decline is poor NCAA competition. Jim Spivey has stated that there are not enough top Africans pushing Americans to faster times in the NCAA. The whole success of the Stanford runners is an illusion because they do not go up against top foreign runners. Compounding this problem is that American runners seem to only rate themselves against other Americans. They run a 13:45 5k and they think I am there! There are probably 50 African runners that could easily beat the NCAA 5k champ.
In short American distance runners look inward. They have to realize there is a big world out there.
The Standard Cross country would just be at a lost against the Kenyans. When the Stanford runners do something in an international venue only then should they be taken seriously. I don't believe a recent Stanford runner has made either an Olympic or World Championship final. We all know that Jennings bombed in the last Olympics.
If Stanford's not cutting it, then what does that say about the great programs of CU, Ark, and Wisc?
They might not be able to hang with the Kenyans, but very few American can right now. Stanford represents part of the uppercrust of American distance, though. And they have put together a "Kenyan-like" training program where a large group of talented runners work together to become top-level competitors. And they're having great success.
Grant Robison performed extremely well on the international circuit this summer. I have no doubt the rest of the squad is waiting to prove themselves as well.
Sorry you hate Stanford so much, but they are one of the greatest NCAA XC teams ever.